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"Fictions" (1967) by Los Vidrios Quebrados is released now on vinyl, from the original IRT masters! Los Vidrios Quebrados were pioneers in Chile in adopting psychedelia as a musical aesthetic, due to the influences gathered mainly from British groups. Although they bequeathed only one LP, this one is a permanent reference of research and applause, for having been worked with their own material (without covers, as was the norm of local rock at the time) and combining their electric flight with opinions of social observation. "Fictions" (1967) is one of the most important rock albums made in Chile. The 1966 single "Friend" and "She'll Never Know I'm Blue" gave way the following year to the recording of "Fictions", their only LP, under the RCA Victor and Ues Producciones label. Without merely copying their influences, the songs on the album feature smooth and fine instrumental arrangements by Héctor Sepúlveda (guitar and vocals), who also acted as the album's musical director. Those who were lucky enough to hear them live say that they were much more rock than what we can appreciate on the album. And the music on the "Fictions" album was even more sophisticated than what was being done at the time, there was a musicality that was quite anticipatory, even foreign. If you listen to the harmonies in "Introduction to Life..." or "Concerto in A Minor", they are quite complex compared to what was heard at the time. That's why they also had a place in radio stations more accustomed to playing classical music, like Radio Andrés Bello. There was a certain intellectual taste, something like an "intellectual arrogance", like the quotations to Oscar Wilde in the lyrics of the songs, for example. For the recording of "Fictions", Los Vidrios Quebrados had very little time, as was customary in those days. And despite the technical limitations of the recording studios (two tracks -vocals on one side and all the instruments on the other-, bottle cap tambourines and homemade instruments), when listening to the album, the result is surprising and, considering that in Chile the music of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones was already known, the reception of "Fiction" was quite good. After the success of "Fictions" and with a promising future, Los Vidrios Quebrados decided to go to Europe in 1969, but the idea was rejected by the parents of two of the members, who only saw music as a hobby. Different life choices and musical tastes led months later to the end of the band.

After consecutive reissues of Peruvian garage and psychedelic rock from the sixties and seventies, Discos Monterey couldn't miss the chance to resurface two of the most emblematic records of the period: "Segundo Volumen" (1967) and "Docena 3" (1968) by Los Shain's, the "conjunto de conjuntos" (the band among bands), as they were called back then. Those fifteen-year-olds started in mid-1964 and would go on to make an impressive musical career that would make history with just four records for the Iempsa label.

They recorded their first LP "El Ritmo De Los Shain's" (1966), halfway between instro rock and garage. Its main architects - Enrique "Pico" Ego Aguirre, on guitar, and Gerardo Manuel Rojas, on lead vocals - introduced psychedelia in their second work called "Volumen 2" (1967). They were accompanied by Beto Tataje on second guitar, Juan Carlos Barreda on bass, and Carlos Manuel Barreda on drums. The album contains, for the most part, their own songs, standing out their luminous melodies and a certain beat they themselves considered to be a product of the "enfermedad" (sickness), immersed as they were in "la onda", the groove of the era. An impressive album that also stood out for its sound and for the pioneering presence of the "fuzz tone" among other effects such as the tape echo or a harmonic distorter that were revolutionary in their day and that today still have an impact due to their enormous power.

LOS Cirros are one of the most obscure Spanish rock bands from the late 60s. Coming out of a tiny village in one of the smallest provinces of the country sure helped them being fully ignored, but how cool those guys proved to be when discovered in compilations such as “Viñedos” or “Pentecostés Vibrations”!!! They released two seven inches (1969 and 1970), both very very rare and featuring pretty cool songs in a blend of garage, light psychedelia and pop. Now, these two 45s are reissued (marketed together, not to be sold separately!), including an unreleased bonus track and with the usual attention to detail of the Madmua label, with the addition of an insert and two postcards. Limited to 500 copies.

Few have done as much for salsa in Venezuela as band-leader, composer and pianist Ray Pérez. He burst on to the scene in the mid-60s with his group Los Dementes, creating the blueprint for guaguanco, pachanga and boogaloo in Venezuela. When the name salsa began to be used as something of a catch-all-term he was still at the forefront, recording two hugely-popular salsa albums with Los Dementes in 1967. Remarkably, that very same year, he also recorded two albums with a brand new group, Los Calvos, that showed how as well as being the genre’s most visible band-leader, he was also pushing the nascent genre to its limits. Looking back, revered journalist Alfredo Churion states that Los Calvos were “one of the most innovative experiences in Venezuelan popular music.” Estos Son Los Calvos is the first of the two albums he made with Los Calvos. On it, he made a few alterations to the line-up that may seem minor, but created a completely new sound. For the first time, he recruited a drummer (unprecedented at the time for a salsa ensemble, which always used percussionists), he switched from the trombones of Los Dementes to the much harder, direct sound of trumpets, and he recruited Carlos Yanez, best known as El Negrito Calavén, as singer. Whereas Los Dementes had been aligned with the slightly pop sound of tropical orchestras, Los Calvos took an almost-jazz approach, allowing room for the musicians and vocalists to improvise, and they also took inspiration from the sounds of surf rock swirling around Caracas. The group’s drummer El Pavo amusingly once described the group’s sound as like “wearing a dinner suit with flip-flops”. Opening track “El Kenya” is the clearest example of that surf rock influence; it’s opening lines make clear its intentions: “una linda trigueña que me invitó a bailar el Kenya” (“a beautiful trigueña – tri-ethnic girl – invited me to dance the Kenya”). They are intent on creating their own dance craze, El Kenya. If the group had ever performed live, then maybe it would have taken off, as the song had all the credentials: rollicking montuno piano from Pérez, ingenious scatting and vocal improvs from Calavén, and a middle section where the drums and trumpets battle it out hard, with an audience screaming its appreciation throughout. It’s followed by ‘Mi Salsa Llego’, which Pérez had already recorded with Los Dementes; here, it’s a tougher beast, the sparser hits of the drums and trumpets giving a harder sound evocative of the times, with more and more people moving to the cities, and wanting a grittier, urban soundtrack. The secret weapon in Los Calvos was the fact that this was a group made up of some of Venezuela’s finest musicians, many of which, Pérez included, had working class roots. Music for them was as much a part of their day-to-day lives, as it was a profession, it was what they did. The legendary Frank “El Pavo” Hernandez was on drum kit, with revered names like Alfredo Padilla, Carlos “Nene” Quintero, Pedro García, Miguel Silva, Enrique Vazquez, Rafael Araujo and Luis Lewis, also involved in the group. Their versatility allowed Los Calvos to go from the slower, haunting groove of “Negrito Calavan”, a showcase for their singer to improvise, and on to “Bailemos Kenya”, another attempt by the group to create their own version of “The Twist”! Los Calvos never played live, but that was always the intention. Pérez was in demand by the record labels of the time and his deal with RCA Victor to make two albums as Los Calvos was only ever that. But the spirit of Los Calvos remained when Pérez then formed Los Kenya, whose name came from the opening track of this album, and whose line-up featured the same inventions as Los Calvos, with a drum kit, two trumpets and the same vocalists (for their second album, Carlín Rodríguez joined as a singer, and remained for Las Kenya). For this reason, Los Calvos would never have the same successes as Pérez’s other groups, though even Pérez has revealed in interviews that the two albums he made as Los Calvos are some of the most fun he ever had recording. With the price of originals for both albums ever increasing for vinyl collectors, this is a great chance to get hold of two of the heaviest salsa albums ever issued in the 60s, and an important moment in the life of Venezuela’s salsa king, Ray Pérez.

In 1969, Locksley Hall, a psychedelic band from Washington, recorded a full album at Audio Recorders in Seattle produced by Sonics Engineer Kearney Barton and long time Northwest guitarist Ned Neltner (Mark Five, Gas Company…).
Never released at the time, this is a great example of West Coast styled psychedelia / acid-rock, featuring female vocals, prominent organ, hard guitar, excellent songs…